Electric switch.



No. 759,586. PATENTED MAY 10, 1904.

' H 0. BABE.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9, 1903.

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Patented May 10, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY (J. BAER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. *7 59,586, dated May 10, 1904:.

Application filed November 9, 1903. Serial No. 180,468. No model.)

To LtZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY C. BAER, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York,

borough of Manhattan, and State of New York,

have made a new and useful Invention in Electric Switches, of which the following is a speci iication.

My invention is directed particularly to improvements in what are known as fixtureswitches that is to say, switches such as are used in connection with electriclight fiX- tures and in places generally where switches of small current-carrying capacity and occupying as little space as possible are desirable; and it has for its objects, first, the production of a switch of the character indicated, of which all of the parts shall be as-compactl y arranged as possible and with a view of preventing any possibility of arcing at the switching-terminals; second, toprovide means for holding the parts together in as rigid and compact a manner as possible; third,to provide a two-pole switch for such uses adapted to either-break both sides of the circuit at the same time or to establish both sides of the circuit on the next movement of the switch. Y

My invention will be fully understood by referring to theaccompanying drawings, in which I Figure 1 is an olevational view of the completed switch and its metallic casing. Fig. 2

i is a transverse sectional view taken through view of the rotary switching-contacts and their supporting insulating-disk, together with a metallic sleeve which connects the disk with the rotary shaft. Fig. 6 is a sectional View taken through Fig. 3 on the line 0 O and as seen looking thereat from right to left in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the metallic cup which supports one end of the rotary switch-shaft.

Referring now to the drawings in'detail, 1 represents the outer casing, which is preferably of spherical form and made of two metallic parts adapted to be interlocked in a manner well understood by those skilled in the art.

2 represents one part of the supportingframe, the same being of substantially ring form, and 3 represents the other part of such frame, composed of a-second ring secured to the first-named ring by two screws at, the two rings being located at right angles to each other and so as to constitute a very rigid support when secured together in the manner indicated. The ring 3 3 is provided with extended necks screw-threaded internally for the purpose of receiving the parts of the fixture and inleading wires.

6 6 represent two distinct or independent insulating-blocks for supporting the several parts of the switch proper. These blocks are cast or molded of hard rubber, vegetable fiber, or the like, with the necessary holes or openings and depressions for securing the parts to be hereinafter described, and each block is cast ormolded in one integral piece, as shown.

13 represents an insulating-disk adapted to carry the movable contacts I l .14, 15 being a metallic sleeve for securing said disk to the rotary shaft 11 of the switch. This shaft 11 is journaled at one end in a metallic cup 7, secured in an opening in the insulating-block 6 by a screw 8, passing through its bottom and with its head resting against the outer face of the frame-ring 2 and the other end in a corresponding hollow cup 9, shouldered, as shown, at its outer end so as to bear against the outer face of the frame-ring 2, and with its inner end screw-threaded, so as to secure the parts together through the other insulating-box 6 by a nut 10, this arrangement necessarily giving to the insulating parts of the switch a very compact and rigid support, which is additionally fortified when the outer framering 3 is secured to the inner frame-ring 2 of the screws 4 4:, thus binding all of the parts together.

12 is the handle of the switch,securcd directly to the outer end of the shaft 11 and adapted to rotate said shaft always from left to right.

16 16 16 16 are pairs of contact-springs secured to the inner faces of the two insulatingblocks 6 and 6 by screws 19 19 19 19, having their heads countersunk in the blocks in openings afterward filled with an insulating medium 5, the outer ends of said springs being bent outward and around the independent insulating-blocks in the manner shown in Fig. 6. To these outer ends are secured by screws 18 18 yielding metallic arms 17 17, adapted to be secured directly to the inleading wires of the fixture by pliers and then soldering the parts together in the usual manner. These two pairs of contact-springs are connected, respectively, to the and leads, so that when the switch is in the position shown in Fig. 3 current flows through two of the contactsprings on the upper side and the corresponding contact 14, carried by the disk 13, to the lamp or other translating device, thence back through the other conductor to the switching contact-springs 16 16 on the lower side and through the lower contact 14 of the disk 13. This disk 13 is lined with ametallic sleeve 15, as before stated, which fits snugly over a rectangular-shaped sleeve 21, which latter sleeve in turn is adapted to slide longitudinally on a rectangular-shaped portion of the shaft 11, the sleeve 21 being adapted to move, as will be apparent on inspection of Figs. 3 and 6, back and forth through the first-named sleeve 15. (See Fig. 5.) To one end of the sleeve 21 is secured a strong spiral spring 24, wound around the shaft 11 and, having its other end secured by a pin directly to said shaft.

23 is a diagonal slot in the sleeve 21, adapted to receive an operating-pin 20, carried by the shaft 11.

22 22 represent two projections or lugs beveled, as shown, at their outer ends and integral with the free end of the sleeve 21, said lugs resting normally in corresponding pairs of openings 25 25 in the inner end of the cup 7, as shown in Fig. 6, theirfunction being to enable the spring 24 to be put under tension as the switch-shaft 11 is rotated.

The operation is as follows: Suppose the current to be turned on and the switch in the position illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. The operator simply takes hold of the operating,

' handle 12 and turns from left to right, thereby causing the pin 20, carried by the shaft 11, to move forward in the diagonal slot 23, thus putting the spring 24 under strong longitudinal tension and endwise compression. At the with a snap-like action, thereby suddenly interrupting the circuit on both sides, the lugs 22 being forced endwise by the spring 24 into the second pair of holes or openings 25 25 when the sleeve is rotated one-quarter of a revolution. The next forward movement of the switch in the same direction in like manner causes the spring to be put under tension and the parts to be again so operated as to establish the circuit on both sides, as before.

I do not limit my invention to the especial details of construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, as many of the features may be materially departed from and still come within the scope of my claims hereinafter made.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is"

1. A switch provided with two distinct or independent insulating-blocks supporting the contacting terminals and securedin a ringframe; in combination with a rotary disk carrying a movable contact or contacts and supported by a rotary shaft journaled in the insulating-blocks; together with a sliding sleeve adapted to move longitudinally on the shaft, said sleeve being connected to the shaft by a spiral spring and provided with means for holding it against rotation during a partial revolution of the shaft, and additional means operatively connected with the shaft for giving to the sleeve longitudinal movement and in such manner as to release it after the spring has been put under tension, substantially .as described.

2. A bipolar switch embracing two distinct or independent insulating-blocks to which two pairs of stationary contacts are secured in a ring-frame; in combination with a rotary insulating-disk supporting two sets of movable contacts and located between the pairs of stationary contacts respectively; together with a rotary shaft and a sliding sleeve which supports the rotary disk, said sliding sleeve being connected directly to the rotary shaft by yielding means and provided with means for preventing the rotation of the disk during a partial revolution of the shaft; and additional means for giving to the sleeve longitudinal movement so as to release it after a definite interval, the rotary insulating-disk having rotary movement only, substantially as described.

In testimony whereofI have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY G. BAER.

Witnesses:

G. J. KINTNER, V. B. KINTNER. 

